What Would Jesus Do?

This story, my storypeople story of the day, brings up an excellent point.

What WOULD Jesus Do... not just in his circumstances meandering about Palestine 2,000 years ago, but right here today, under THESE circumstances, with THESE conditions, and THIS world? That's a reasonably interesting question. One of the first, and one of my favorite, things I learned in seminary was the principle of reading and grappling with scripture here and now, living with it in present reality and not simply accepting the stories for their ancient, and temporally-bound, content.

When you ask the question what would Jesus (or whomever you choose to emulate) do in my circumstances, you are indeed likely to come up with a new answer like the one posed above. The next question is, of course, does "NO" mean he would do the same thing he did before, or that he would do the same thing as you?

What does YOUR "magic religious 8 ball" say? Hmmmmm?

A Sneak Preview of Things To Come

My post at George Washington's Cousin which I mention below has recently been altered.

The Sarah Palin video, which includes large chunks of images and information regarding the fanatical and incendiary group of right wing "christians" that she belongs to has been removed from You Tube and is no longer available. Instead I went to the filmmaker's website and was able to find the piece hosted on another server, so I have subsequently changed the link.

This kind of thing is pretty typical procedure for Google (which owns You Tube.. AND Blogspot). It has also been increasingly typical behavior in the U.S. during these "Bush League" years.

I REALLY hate getting into these fear-mongering perspectives and propagating the kind of negativity that seems to be flying about, BUT... I am afraid that it is only a small example of what is likely to come if we do not defend our precious liberty and prevent McCain/Palin and their cadre of revisionist neo non-thinkers from taking over the government.

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." ~Benjamin Franklin

Women Against Sarah Palin

THIS needs no explanation and it's damn good reading. I offer it as my last word on the new candidate for Vice Pretender in Chief (who has already received FAR more attention than she deserves). These women are much more eloquent on the matter than I can even hope to be (duh!).

Here is the initial post (you'll find it, as usual, at the very bottom of the site scroll).

Read the rest for yourself! Then pass it on!

OUR ORIGINAL CALL TO ACTION
Friends and compatriots,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce-on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate-that has a real possibility of becoming fact.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from.

First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

Therefore, we invite you to reply here with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.

Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah
Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please
send us your reply at your earliest convenience-the greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.

VIVA!

Sincerely,

Quinn L. and Lyra K.
New York, NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com

**PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! If you send this to 20 women in the next hour, you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously. Stranger things have happened.

Be AFRAID...

I've posted a video and discussion regarding Sarah Palin's churches and her connections to The American Taliban at my George Washington's Cousin website because people need to know what this woman is, and those behind her are, all about. I am not a fear monger, and I believe in the political process, but we are truly through the looking glass here and we need to be paying attention.

Someone said about politicians that "It's not who you vote for, but who they bring with them." This has been especially true in the last eight years and if, by some absurd possibility, the country elects McCain/Palin the folks THEY bring with em will be a disaster.

40 Days To Life

For several years now (all the way back to when I was in New Orleans at the time of Katrina) I have tried to create a "change your life" program that runs for something around 6 weeks. I've tried different approaches, different lengths of time... I've tried pretty much everything and it has never worked.

So... with motivation I picked up at Glide Church yesterday morning (more on that later) I'm starting again. This time I'm going to blog it in the hope that the practice of publicly journaling my thoughts, feelings, experiences, and work in this arena will help me stick with it, and provide me with some sort of insight into my psyche that I might not have otherwise.

If you're feeling curious, or just particularly voyeuristic, you can read along at 40 Days To Life.